would you leave your 12 week old to go out for 3 hours?

[Ellax]

12 week old is ebf and we haven’t been separated since they’ve been born.

it would be to go out 10 mins away for 3 hours and I’ll give dh a bottle of breast milk.

Would you do it??

TIA ! X

How? The kid will be with it's father and a bottle. I didn't with mine cos my boobs would have exploded but it's safe for the kid.

It’s a scenario worth practicing for, even if you mever do it. A friend of mine also had an unexpected hospital trip, and it wasn’t pretty

Yes of course. Like others, I think it is very important for everyone's wellbeing that your DH becomes comfortable and confident spending time alone with his child.

I started work when my first born was about 10 weeks old (employer would not wait). We used to work half days each. Then a little while later (3 months?) she started at a nursery for half days and we split the afternoons between us. She was still mostly bf.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend that. It was very hard work always catching up with work in the evening. But it did have the huge upside that my DH took absolutely equal responsibility for all parenting right from the start and this continued right through, in a way I have almost never seen with my friends.

Yes, as long as you know they'll take the bottle but you're so close anyway so nothing disastrous will happen. Leaving with DH isn't really leaving them!

As long as they take a bottle! I had to leave mine with my mum at 6 weeks for 3 hours!

I mix feed and left my baby from 3 weeks for a few hours at a time as I co-slept and needed a few hours of break - and I had horses to look after anyway.

Mixed feeding was perfect for me as it has kept me breast feeding all year and I will easily be able to continue until my dd is 2+ years old. If I had been unable to leave her for a few hours out of 24, I would have gone crazy and given up. Instead, I’ve had great mental health, a robust baby getting all the antibodies and nutrients from breast milk, and a confident eater / drinker from dad, granny, uncle. She’ll drink expressed or formula happily.

I didn't leave mine until we'd started BLW at 6 months. Both DD1 and DD2 refused expressed breast milk, at least at 6 months plus they would take water and solid food. DH was a very competent father so no issues with thinking he couldn't care for them.

What's the occasion? Why can't you take your LO?

I wouldn't but nothing wrong with women who do.

Just because your DH couldn't manage doesn't mean that others can't.

And I have never come across anyone before with your rigid definition of EBF. The rest of the world includes EBM given via a bottle. Its not the deal for everyone else.

Mine wasn't EBF but I left mine regularly for the day with my mum at that age and went to Europe for 4 nights left baby with in laws at 16 weeks.

Yes! When my daughter was 6 weeks old I got the opportunity to go to Silverstone for race day for £150.

I built up a pump stash in the days before and took a hand pump with me and pumped and dumped in the (very smelly) portaloos at regular intervals throughout the day to keep my supply up

Baby had a great day with daddy and I got a break and normality that was badly needed.

People barricading themselves in the house and refusing to leave babys side for the first 6 months dont get any medals for it. Youre still going to end up with a toddler who screams stamps and slaps like the rest of us! 😂

I love this.

Motherhood isn't martyrdom.

I would. Give them a breast feed before you go, DH has the bottle on stand by if needed then off you go for three hours. If you are also only 10 minutes away if baby really won't take the bottle then you can easily come home

Strange question.
When I had DS2, I was very ill and 10 days post-birth I had to go back to the hospital with suspected sepsis. That was Covid, end of 1st lockdown. I had to go in alone to have a coctail of IV antiobitics for several days while DH stayed at home with our newborn baby and another DS. He used my frozen expressed milk + formula, when that finished. They were absolutely fine...

If I was fully recovered then yes I would.

In theory yes I would have. Whether I did, I can’t actually remember. Neither of mine took a bottle, but I also would have been fairly confident that they wouldn’t starve if left for three hours and could be jostled about in a sling for a while if needed.

Absolutely

I'm pretty sure my breastfed, bottle-refuser went 3 hours between feeds at 12 weeks. So yes. Whether your baby does, or whether they take a bottle are the only deciding factors.

I left the country without my first born when he was 10 weeks and I was breastfeeding.
Had a bachelorette in Miami, baby was already on expressed bottles and husband was perfectly capable.
We all had a blast, I took my breast pump and just dumped out the milk.
I would have had no problem leaving my 12 week old baby for 3 hours, especially since I was back at work when they were 16 weeks and they were in day care (non-UK), as long as they take a bottle and are in the care of a competent human being!

Yes, I did it.I got baby used to a bottle (of breast milk) beforehand though. It was fine.

What?

This. I wouldn’t insult my husband by assuming he can’t care for his own baby. Just as he would leave me alone for 3 hours and do something. Baby has 2 parents.

I did this for a hair appointment. Ds didn't settle for a bottle and my dh at the time just walked him up to the hairdressers for a nurse and then took him home again and it was grand. Sent me lots of photos of them playing and what ds was up to so I could relax. I think try it and see how you go. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it and your dh needs to build his confidence looking after baby alone as well because your down time is just as important.

Yes, I did, and would do it again. Why on earth wouldn’t you trust DH with the baby, having supplied enough milk for a feed? If you don’t trust DH that is a big issue and needs sorting out.

Yeah I have a ebf 11 week old I have left him loads with his father and a bottle of expressed breast milk. I have introduced bottles early with all of my children so I can leave them if needed.